BEIJING, May 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dehaier Medical Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:DHRM) ("Dehaier" or the "Company"), which develops, markets and sells medical devices and wearable sleep respiratory products in China, today announced that its sleep respiratory solution systems have been adopted by Sonqao Health Checkup Institution ("Sonqao"), an emerging physical examination chain that provides comprehensive physical checkup and personalized health management services to over 200,000 patients annually through its three state-of-the-art physical examination centers in Beijing and Inner Mongolia.
Pursuant to an agreement executed earlier this month between our agent and Sonqao, Dehaier will provide its sleep respiratory solution systems, including related data transmission working stations, cloud-based diagnostic and analysis software, watch-sized sleep diagnostic and monitoring devices and disposable photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors, to meet the demand for obstructive sleep apnea ("OSAS") diagnosis and treatment at Sonqao's three physical examination centers. This follows the Company's announcement in January that Aoya Hospital of Ciming Healthcare Group, a leading physical examination chain in China, had adopted its sleep respiratory solution systems.
Dr. Yi Zhuang, a principal supervisor at Sonqao, commented, "Dehaier's innovative wearable sleep respiratory solution systems provide our patients with a convenient, cost effective and comparably accurate alternative to the traditional polysomnography (PSG) based sleep tests. We are encouraged with the results and feedback from the early trial of Dehaier's systems and expect demand for sleep tests based on Dehaier's wearable sleep respiratory technology to increase over time as Sonqao's patients learn more about the direct and indirect health risks of OSAS."
Mr. Ping Chen, Chief Executive Officer of Dehaier, stated, "Since early this year, hundreds of wearable sleep diagnostic systems we delivered to hospitals and private physical checkup centers have performed well with increasing use for patients for sleep disorders. By the end of the first quarter, we have distributed 250,000 disposable PPG sensors to our regional agents that are actively delivering them to medical institutions all over the China. The physical examination market in China is a RMB 10 billion market with significant growth potential, thanks to China's rapidly expanding middle class, much improved average life expectancy, and an aging population of over 1.3 billion. We believe these factors, combined with an increasing public awareness about the dangers of untreated sleep apnea, which has a high prevalence in China among a population of 260 million people with certain chronic diseases including hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and brain stroke, will allow us to grow our sleep respiratory business through the over 6,000 physical examination centers across China. As we further our efforts to penetrate this market segment, we expect to deliver our wearable sleep respiratory solution systems to other leading physical examination chains."
About Sonqao Health Checkup Institution
Established in 2007, Sonqao Health Checkup Institution ("Sonqao") is an emerging physical examination chain focusing on providing physical screening, diagnostic, treatment, and health management services to the general public. Sonqao currently provides comprehensive physical checkup and personalized health management services to over 200,000 people annually through its three fully owned physical examination centers in Beijing and Inner Mongolia. More information may be found at http://www.sonqao.com.
About Dehaier Medical Systems Ltd.
Dehaier is an emerging leader in the development, marketing and sale of medical products, including medical devices and wearable sleep respiratory products. The company develops and assembles its self-branded medical devices and sleep respiratory products from third-party components. The company also distributes products designed and manufactured by other companies, including medical devices from IMD (Italy), HEYER (Germany) and Timesco (UK). Dehaier's technology is based on six patents and eleven software copyrights. More information may be found at http://www.dehaier.com.cn.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, fulfillment of bids and contracts, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government regulation, and other risks contained in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by or on behalf of the company, are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.